In my honest opinion, you have to be careful with stirrupless work, especially if you don't know what you are doing.

The reason I say this is because I've seen too many times, where riders learn to grip and pinch with their knees and legs while doing stirrupless work, resulting in incorrect position, incorrect use of their lower legs while doing regular riding *meaning back in their irons*

I would stick to 2 point for now...........

Making sure you are balanced over your feet. Your toes should not pass your girth. What you want to do, to make sure you are balanced over your feet, is stand up in your irons. If you fall, topple or loose your balance in any way, you are not over your feet. Keep working on this until you find your "sweet spot".

When you find it, work on allowing your weight to flow from your head down into your heels, without gripping or pinching your knees or thighs. Allow that weight to naturally occur. When you find your weight in your heels, you are now anchored in your tack.

Your contact with your lower leg should be on the inner/back of your calf. I know, that doesn't make sence. You do not want your toes pointed strait forward, nor do you want them out like Charlie Chaplin. Start by finding your inside calf, feel that on the side of your horse, now turn your toes outward slowly, until you can feel you getting closer to the back of your calf - until you get to about a 45 degree angle between your toe and your horse....but not everyone understands angles....

I've got a good one for you. While walking around on a loose rein, stand straight up in your stirrups and stay there using that inner calf/heels down thing to keep you there. You'll find your center when your hips are slightly in front of the pommel. See how long you can stay in that position before you feel the burn! I was done in about 3 minutes today!

You should try to do some exercises without the horse. If you have very weak lower leg muscles one of the best ways to exercise them is to find a staircase or somewhere with a "step". Hold on to the hand rail or wall as to be steady. You stand with the first 1/3 of your foot on the step and then you lower the heel slowly and the rise it again and lower it again and rise it again... and just keep doing it for about 50 times. Take a short break and another 50 times.

At first you will not be able to do it 50 times but just keep doing it every day and your muscles will become very strong. It will take only 10 minutes a day. Good luck

I heard a good one last week. I haven't tried it yet. Shorten stirrups about 8 holes, so all that's keeping you up there is your lower legs. No lower legs, you go thud. I'm guessing it works out of the preservation instinct alone.

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